PCC says new tools are helping tackle shoplifting

Clare Moody says shopkeepers can now upload video evidence to help secure prosecutions

A police and crime commissioner (PCC) has said more help was now available to businesses to help tackle shoplifting but she accepted more work still needed to be done.

Avon and Somerset PCC Clare Moody said extra government funding was playing a part along with new neighbourhood policing initiatives to target repeat offenders.

She said there had been more arrests in the past year due to shopkeepers being able to provide CCTV and video evidence.

Ms Moody added that though recorded crime statistics had risen, this could be a "positive indicator" of increased confidence in police to investigate incidents.

The PCC says more still needs to be done

"We are under resourced in policing," she told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We haven't got sufficient numbers still to be able to respond to all of these shoplifting cases [but] it is a priority.

"We have got hotspot funding [extra government money] now so we've got additional overtime hours that have been happening."

She said there had been a successful focus on dealing more effectively with repeat shoplifting offenders but that the force needed to get better at communicating those successes to the public.

When asked why recorded crime had risen in 2024/ 2025, compared to the two years prior, Ms Moody said an increase in reporting had been a factor.

"Sometimes crime statistics going up is actually a positive indicator because there is more confidence to report," she said.

"It's about how the police respond. It's about making sure the victim is at the centre of that response but the policing focus is on the perpetrator."

She added her key priorities for the next 12 months would be focusing on preventing violence against women and girls, keeping young people safe and enhancing the work being done on neighbourhood policing teams.